Death toll climbs in New Mexico passenger bus crash; serious injuries also reported

31 August 2018

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Fatal injuries in the crash involving the bus and a half in New Mexico

The authorities in New Mexico report multiple fatalities and serious injuries in an accident on Interstate 40 that a Greyhound bus and a semi-truck.

New Mexico State Police say they have confirmed that there are seven fatalities related to Thursday afternoon’s bus crash on Interstate 40.

Previous reports said at least four people were killed when a semi-tractor trailer experienced a tire blow-out” and eventually collided with a Greyhound passenger bus.

#NMBusCrash UPDATE: Seven (7) confirmed deaths at the scene.

— NMSP (@NMStatePolice) of 31 August 2018

Preliminary crash information indicates a semi-tractor-trailer traveling on I-40 EB had a tire blowout and crossed into the next WB-traffic, colliding with a Greyhound bus.

— NMSP (@NMStatePolice) August 30, 2018

“Some of the bus passengers were transported with serious injuries,” the tweet said.

The authorities said that “multiple serious injuries” also occurred.

Twenty patients were treated in the Gallup Indian Medical Center, according to Dr. Kevin Gaines, chief medical officer at the hospital. Of the 20, four were children, but no ages were immediately available.

Injured = death

— NMSP (@NMStatePolice) August 30, 2018

McKinley County bus crash update: There are multiple serious injuries and passengers. The officers and the EMS-active work and the assessment of this scene. A PIO is on the way and will update the media when information is available. All available information will be released via Twitter

— NMSP (@NMStatePolice) August 30, 2018

Six patients were treated and sent to the University of New Mexico Hospital, four were transferred to the Banner Hospital in Phoenix, and 10 were still treated in Gallup. The conditions that are treated in Gallup ranged from good (two patients) to severe (two), and critical (one).

At least 47 passengers to ride on the Greyhound bus that was on its way to Albuquerque, with at least one scheduled stop in Phoenix, the company told the Associated Press.

The passenger of the bus involved in the accident experienced front-end damage, while a semi-truck was discovered lying on its side. Video also showed debris scattered over the roadway and the emergency services on the scene.

A witness described the incident as “terrible,” tells KRQE that “screams were coming from the bus.”

“It was horrible that there are people who try to climb out of the windows of the bus… bystanders trying to help people getting ladders off their truck to get to windows of the Greyhound bus to help,” the witness told the outlet. “When we went through the fall semi, everything in the trailer was on the road. It was a disaster…you could say the people were in distress, screams were coming from the bus.”

The NTSB is launching a go-team to investigate today’s crash with a Greyhound bus and a truck tractor semi-trailer on Interstate 40 in Gonzales, New Mexico.

— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) August 30, 2018

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) tweeted that they are sending a team to investigate.

#TrafficAlert McKinley County: I-40 west is closed at mile marker 50 in the vicinity of Thoreau by a crash in which a passenger of the bus. Traffic is being diverted to the frontage road in Thoreau. Expect delays. More info will follow as soon as available.

— NMSP (@NMStatePolice) August 30, 2018

McKinley County Emergency Management has established the following number for families of passengers seeking information about their relatives: 505-722-2002

— NMSP (@NMStatePolice) August 30, 2018

Road closures in the vicinity of Thoreau occurred as a result of the crash, state police said, informing the audience to “expect delays.”

The McKinley County Emergency Management set up a phone line “for the families of passengers seeking information about their family,” police said. The number is (505) 722-2002.

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